Note: continuation of Untethered
Not Beta'd
Just like that he knew what his gut told him the day he caught Eames with Goren's cell phone.
"Talk to me on the way down." She informed him of their plan and Goren's missed contact. She spoke quickly and clearly knowing time was of the essence.
"You let your partner go on a rogue mission at a prison's mental unit. Eames, where did your judgment go?" He then closed the office door behind them.
She became enraged, "With all do respect what did you think would happen when you sent Donny back up there?!"
"You mean when I didn't rewrite the entire penal code for one detective trying to stash his nephew?" He spouted bitterly. "Eames, we did everything we could for him."
"Goren saw it differently," She continued shouting having enough of staying quiet and towing the line, "He thought-"
"Eames, be very careful here."
She let out a breath and lowered her voice "-that your hands were tied. So what do we do now? Do we go to the DA, the Chief of D's-" she was emotional. She felt angry and scared. Tears were welling in her eyes but she pushed them back causing her throat to tighten.
"Absolutely not."
She nodded, "Then, I'll head up there myself. I'll drive all night." She walks away heading out the office to start enroute to drive to Goren. She wasn't going to be another person to let Goren down and she was not going to care about politics and procedure when her partner, boyfriend was in danger.
"No," Captain Ross called out stopping her in her tracks. She turns around. "We'll go together."
She got in the car with him. "I'm driving." It was all she could do to maintain composure and control the speed in which they were moving. I have to get there quickly. I have to rescue Bobby. Those phrases became her mantra as she willed away any other thought.
Captain Ross convinced her that they should take shifts and she unwillingly agreed despite her will to have control over something, at the moment. Captain Ross kept asking her questions. It annoyed her to no end as right now she was just focusing on what she could do for Goren now and not think about what happened and what could be happening to him. Couldn't we have this conversation once Bobby's safe.
"What did he think he could do up there, was he just trying to get as close to the edge as he could."
Can we stop the Bobby bashing? He could be in danger and you want to ridicule him and put him down. For once, she wished they'd see him as a person and not some head case and put themselves in his shoes. They would probably do the same thing left with no choice.
"All he was thinking was he had to save Donny," She shook her head in disgust at how quickly he moved to write him off instead of empathizing with him.
When they released him and loaded him into the ambulance, Eames wanted to join him, to comfort him, hold his hand and let him know she was there. She also felt that would reassure her that he would be okay. Instead, she had to follow behind in the car because she had to stay calm and couldn't reveal how truly felt about Goren in front of the Captain.
Damn politics and rules. Eames was frustrated once again about the old buddy boy system but this time in its failure to be there for one of their own in a time of need just because he was little different and did things his own way.
She understood that hands could be tied in the politics of doing this job but she could always find a work around with enough time. She played the game and came out relatively unscathed. She hadn't had the time to figure out how to help Goren and his nephew, though. Goren made sure to fast track, in his way, to disasterize the whole situation. He was panicked and she couldn't calm him down enough to formulate a proper plan instead they jumped into this idea haphazardly. Now, they would be stuck with the repercussions. .
Inside Goren's Hospital Room
They hooked him up to an IV immediately as he was severely dehydrated. Eames made her way to his room and the captain spoke, "We've been driving all night. There's nothing we can do now but wait and let him rest. Why don't you get some rest, too?"
She just shook her head, "No. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I may as well just stay here. You go though, I'll let you know when I get an update." He nodded and walked away getting a room at a local hotel nearby.
When she was sure he left, she grabbed Goren's hand and kissed it. "I'm here. You are okay now." She let it drop and scooted a chair closer to him and reassured him. He was disoriented from his time in ISO and Heaven. He was in and out of sleep as his body was stressed and exhausted.
"Eames...Alex," he called out. His throat was scratchy and hoarse. He wasn't sure if he had just imagined her. Maybe it was all in his mind but when she put her hand on his arm, he knew she was really there.
"Yes, it's me. You are in a hospital." She choked her tears refusing to let them out. She felt relief at his safety but pent up emotions from her fear and concern. She was struggling to keep a strong front.
"Lights...Bright" He coughed and settled.
"Okay, Bobby. I'll get them." She flicked the switch, "Is that better."
He just nodded. Several minutes passed and they sat in the dark and she gave him water whenever he asked. She had to remind him to pace himself. He was so desperate to finish it quickly like it would be ripped away from him, like he wouldn't see it again.
"It's okay," he managed to get out. She rose from her chair.
"It's not okay. You have any idea how worried I've been that something may have happened to you? You could have died. What would have happened if you died? Where would that leave me? Oh and the Captain is not happy. You may be in serious trouble. Nevermind what the Chief of D's will say when he has to tell them." She rambled knowing that some of this probably wasn't getting through to him but she was tired of staying quiet and just needed to get her thoughts out. "Bobby. You do that to me again, I swear-" She stopped herself and dropped down to hug him. He winced slightly as his body ached and felt weak but he leaned into her touch grateful she was by his side. "I'm just glad you're safe" she said with tears penetrating her voice.
She touched her lips to his briefly. He was still dehydrated. His lips were dry and rough. She let them touch his softly to avoid causing him any discomfort. He grabbed her hand and she placed her other hand on top scared to let go. She had a new mantra, Bobby is safe and that was all that mattered now. The fallout could wait.
